There are those vintners who toil endlessly in their vineyards, nurturing their grapes, and there are those who work with equal fervor in political fields, awaiting the fruits of their labor. Then there is that rarer varietal, like D.J. Smith, the vintner-lobbyist who has mastered both crafts.
As proprietor of Hagen Heights Vineyard in Napa (HagenHeights.com) and a trustee of The Land Trust of Napa County, as well as an über-lobbyist and partner of California Strategies & Advocacy of Sacramento, Smith moves comfortably between both worlds, carefully tending his viticultural and legislative gardens. In the tightly-knit world of California politics, Smith’s affable personality and expertise in land use, transportation and energy issues are legendary. Insiders know that he was a dear companion of the infamous, late legislator, B.T. Collins, and is a close crony of the Flanigan legal clan of brothers. He also authored the 1977 legislation that created the powerful California Transportation Commission, which allocates funds for highway construction, passenger rail and transit issues.
Less well known in the political community is the success that he and his wife, Diane, a master gardener, have achieved as artisan producers of premium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines, 100 percent of which are grown on their 15-acre vineyard estate.
The third-generation son of farmers, Smith was born in Indiana and grew up in the rural Erie Canal town of Lockport, New York, not far from the Ontario and Finger Lakes wine-growing regions. However, he didn’t pursue agricultural studies. Instead, he majored in political science and urban affairs at the American University in Washington, D.C. and worked in the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. After earning a second degree in public policy and transportation planning from Florida State University, Smith arrived in California and became the chief consultant to the California State Assembly Committee on Transportation in 1975.
The Smiths met in Davis where Diane, a native of Southern California, was an accountant with Sacramento Paratransit. She previously served an extended term in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, during which she used her expertise in food economics to work with the Save the Children organization. Natural nurturers with a passion for gardening, the Smiths were both drawn to the land. In 1984, they married in Sacramento’s McKinley Rose Garden across the street from their home, and spent many weekends in the Napa Valley.
In 1999, they decided to leave Sacramento with their two daughters, Hillary and Alyson, and plant their roots in Napa. That first spring, they indulged their gardening passion with a fruit orchard and a flower-cutting garden of sweet peas, hydrangeas and roses – even before they built their Tuscan-style home. By fall, they had planted their first grapes – Cabernet Sauvignon and, at Diane’s insistence, some Cabernet Franc.
“We always thought we wanted to grow grapes and sell them,” says Diane, who covers the executive bases from accounting to marketing for Hagen Heights Vineyard. “We weren’t sure we wanted to take the huge leap to produce our own wine, but we received some great advice in our first conversation with Robert Mondavi when we told him we had just moved to Napa and planted our grapes. He told us, ‘Make wine, even if you have to make it in your garage,’ and we’re so glad we listened to him.”
Located less than 10 miles from San Francisco Bay, Hagen Heights is in the southeast end of the valley, which is often five to ten degrees cooler than the upper valley. The microclimate provides two to three extra weeks of hang time for the grapes to ripen, and helps pinpoint the exact time for the most advantageous harvest. The soil is a mix of creek bed loam and volcanic cinder that promotes good drainage, nutrition and some desirable stress even in the wettest conditions.
Diane’s many hours of work to become a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteer opened up a wide network of local experts and valley specialists. Mike Wolf guided the Smiths in their vineyard construction. Through Wolf, they met their winemaker, Heather Pyle, who is familiar with the grapes near their property from her long tenure with the Mondavis. They chose Raul Gloria, who has years of experience in turning out premium quality wines as a winemaker at Buehler Vineyards, to serve as their vineyard manager.
In the fall of 2001, the Smiths conducted a family-style harvest that yielded 800 pounds of grapes, picked by a labor force of 15 kids and 15 adults. Pyle received 400 pounds of grapes in exchange for her services. The Smiths bottled 15 cases – and they were in business. Since that humble start, there have been official releases in 2002, 2003 and 2004, the latter of which most recently produced 565 cases.
“We believe in a more hands-off winemaking approach to allow the soils, our microclimate and the expression of the grapes to dictate our style,” says D.J. “Though our production is very small, our winemaking goal to produce truly exceptional Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is ambitious.”
When it came time to design the label for Hagen Heights, D.J. turned to his good friend and colleague, Terry Flanigan, who also happens to be an accomplished artist. Flanigan created the original pen and ink drawing of the Smith family residence that is the Hagen Heights logo. Wine label consultant, Lorinda Scotland, executed the label from Flanigan’s artwork to reflect the straightforward, elegant style of the Bordeaux tradition. The label delightfully portrays the Smiths’ wine, the beauty of their vineyard and their love of the land in Napa Valley.
“Growing up in Orange County, I didn’t really know the seasons, but living here connects you to the land and its sheer beauty,” says Diane. “Life in a vineyard brings you daily into the very cycles of nature as you wait to see the vines turn red and yellow in the fall and watch the mustard come out and see the green sprouts of spring turn into the lush, green leaves of summer. It can be just breathtaking.”
This past September, upon release of their 2004 vintage, Peter Marks, Master of Wine at COPIA, gave this review: “This Hagen Heights Cabernet offers wonderfully rich, bright, forward fruit flavors, but unlike the intense and often overpowering wines from warmer vineyards in the northern part of the valley, the wine beautifully balances its fruit with elegance and finesse, along with a lovely, long, supple finish expertly complemented with nuances of toast and spice from gentle oak aging.”
As D.J. makes his two- to three-hour drive between Sacramento and Napa three days each week, he has the satisfaction of that supportive, positive critique to savor. Who in politics would offer such glowing reviews of your daily toils?
